Mr. Foster's 5th Grade Learning Page
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LATEST UPDATE
LATEST UPDATE
Friday, September 18, 2026
Dear Fifth Grade Families,
We want to extend a massive “Congratulations, you did it!” to all of our fifth graders (and their families) for their effort on our Eco Experience trip! Taking a large group of students away from home for an overnight adventure is a big milestone, and our students rose to the occasion. They demonstrated teamwork, responsibility, and resilience just to name a few highlights. Here are some other ways our fifth graders shined:
Community: Students looked out for one another, made sure no one was left out, and stepped up to help during group activities.
Curiosity: They engaged with our CSU Mountain Campus instructors, asked thoughtful questions, and showed interest in learning outside the classroom. The instructors told us how impressed they were with our kids.
Bravery: Traveling with school overnight takes courage! They admitted when they missed home and family, and forged ahead anyway, determined to challenge themselves and have fun. Just, wow!
In addition, we’d also like to extend a sincere apology for the confusion around the ropes course waiver. If you are the family of an impacted student, we are very sorry for your student’s disappointment at not being able to participate in the ropes course. CSU Mountain Campus has gone to a new system for these forms this year that only they can see and did not communicate this process fully with us until we were there. We did leave feedback specific to this matter in the hopes that future students will not have to experience the disappointment felt by several of our fifth graders this year. Please help us let them know it was a “glitch” on CSU’s end and we are truly sorry this happened.
Here’s the latest in fifth grade academic content:
Math: We are back “in the groove” and moving into reviewing and strengthening multiplication concepts - it is connected to solving Volume problems where the three side-lengths of a box are multiplied.
Reading: Fifth grade has been introduced to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and we are now reading it closely to make connections between it and Esperanza Rising. This is to help identify which characters’ human rights are being threatened and how. Students are really enjoying this book so far!
Writing: This week we worked on our star stories at Eco Week. We were able to star gaze at night during Eco Week to inspire our stories. We will continue working on these next week.
Science: Eco Week helped us learn about ecosystems and the environment. We loved getting to do hands-on learning in streams and on our hikes. Be sure to ask your child about their favorite part of Eco Week!
Upcoming Dates
Sunday, September 20: Shepardson Family 4K Fun Run- 10am
Thursday, September 24: Picture Day
Monday, September 28: No School
Monday, October 12- Wednesday, October 14: Fall Conferences- 4-7pm
Thursday, October 15: Friday, October 16: Fall Break!
Finally, we are very proud of how well Shepardson students represented our school community. They made memories that will last a lifetime, and they did it with enthusiasm. Let’s see what they learned about themselves and each other in the coming days and weeks! And of course, we need to thank our fellow adult chaperones who gave their time and energy to make this trip safe, successful, and fun. It truly does take a village and we appreciate sharing this one with all of you!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Fifth Grade Team
LOST & FOUND from ECO
Friday, September 4, 2026
Dear Fifth Grade Families,
Welcome to September! Class rotations are in full swing and students are getting more organized with their materials each day. We are enjoying getting to know all fifth graders and working together to help them develop the skills they will need to be successful in middle school next year. If you have specific questions about these subjects, please contact us at:
Mike Foster- Math: mfoster@psdschools.org
Leila King- Reading: lking@psdschools.org
Kenzie Qualley- Writing: kqualley@psdschools.org
Here’s what we’ve been up to:
Content Areas
Math: We launched with the new math curriculum this week. It feels like we work at a UPS facility because we are calculating the volume inside boxes!
The concept started with how measuring space inside of containers can be done with small units like ML for water bottles or large units like Gallons for bottles, buckets, etc.
We moved on to generic “cubic units” for boxes and how these are 3-D measures rather than flat 2-D units for area or 1-D units like lines.
This unit will be our focus for the next several weeks as we move from counting layers towards the short cut of multiplying the three side-lengths (formula: volume = length X width X height for boxes).
As we develop more “formal” plans (formulas) for solving these problems, the slide shows will be posted on the math learning page so that you can see what we are working on.
Reading: We have started Module 1: Stories of Human Rights and have begun reading the related novel, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
If you want to learn more, please check out Mrs. King’s learning page-Subjects-Reading
Audio links are included and will be released as we read. This is a great option for readers who need extra support as well as those who need extra time at home to stay on track with our reading assignments.
Writing: We got into the swing of things this week. We reviewed the different parts of a paragraph before writing our own!
We wrote a narrative paragraph about what we would wish for if a genie granted us one wish.
In grammar, we reviewed parts of speech and worked on revising and editing both sentences and paragraphs for grammatical mistakes.
Science: We have begun our ecology unit in Mystery Science to help prepare students for our Eco trip. Our focus has been ecosystems and food webs. We explored where leaves go after they fall off of trees through a hands-on exploration. Be sure to ask your child where all the leaves disappear to.
Eco Experience
Packets with forms are due by Tuesday, September 8th!
This includes all medication and health forms to ensure our health office has time to organize and share this information with the nurse at the CSU Mountain Campus.
Payments can be made at the School Pay website
The Ropes Course Waiver is an ONLINE FORM (see QR below)
Students must have a signed waiver in order to participate. It is best to sign it so kids have the option to use the ropes course if they choose.
We will share more information with students regarding room assignments later next week.
We will send a final trip update home later in the week as well.
Upcoming Dates
Monday, September 7: No School Labor Day
Tuesday, September 8: Eco Experience Forms due
(NOTE: A doctor’s signature is required on all med forms)
Monday, September 14- Wednesday September 16:
Eco Experience Overnight Field Trip
Sunday, September 20: Shepardson Family 4K Fun Run- 10am
Monday, September 28: No School
Monday, October 12- Wednesday, October 14: Fall Conferences- 4-7pm
Thursday, October 15: Friday, October 16: Fall Break!
Finally, thank you for attending our presentation at Back to School Night, we sure appreciate your partnership!
Have a wonderful long weekend,
Fifth Grade Team
WAIVER FOR ROPES COURSE: See Eco Page at the top menu
Hello and Happy Friday!
We had a great first week here in Fifth Grade! We wanted to share a few important updates and reminders with you.
1. Parent Survey & Class t-shirts
Please complete the Parent Survey by Friday, August 28.
The survey includes a question about your child’s Eco Week shirt size. We need to place the shirt order next week, so please complete the survey at your earliest convenience.
Please keep in mind when choosing a size that they will need to wear this shirt throughout the whole year (please account for growth spurts).
2. Friday Folders
Most Fridays, your child will bring home a yellow Friday Folder. Please look through all of the documents in the folder and return any forms or papers that need to be signed.
The Friday Folder will be our main way of sending important documents and information home throughout the school year, so please be sure to check it each week.
3. Medical Forms for Eco Week- DUE to HEALTH OFFICE: Tuesday, September 8th
If your child needs to take medication while we are at Eco Week, you will find the necessary medical forms in their yellow Friday Folder and attached to this message.
Please note that for all over-the-counter and prescription meds, these forms must be completed and signed by a doctor. Since Eco Week is quickly approaching, please return the completed forms as soon as possible so that we can make sure everything is in place before we leave.
4. Stop and Thinks
This week, we practiced a Stop and Think form as a class. The form coming home in your child’s Friday Folder is simply part of that practice and does not indicate that your child received a Stop and Think.
A Stop and Think is a reflection form that students may complete if they are not demonstrating our expected behaviors. Our process is to give students a first ask, followed by a second ask. If the behavior continues, the student will then be given a Stop and Think.
If your child receives a Stop and Think for a behavior concern, you will be notified by the teacher or staff member who gave it to your child. Additional information about the Stop and Think process can be found on the form coming home in the folder today.
Thank you for your continued support! We are looking forward to a wonderful year together and are so excited for all that is ahead in Fifth Grade!
We hope you have a great weekend,
Fifth Grade Team
Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, September 1: Back-to-School Parent Information Night- 5:30-7:30pm
Monday, September 7: No School (Labor Day)
Tuesday, September 8: Eco Experience Med Forms due to Shep Nurse’s Office (NOTE: doctor’s signature is required)
Monday, September 14- Wednesday September 16:
Eco Experience Overnight Field Trip
Sunday, September 20: Shepardson Family 4K Fun Run- 10am
Monday, September 28: No School
Monday, October 12- Wednesday, October 14:
Fall Conferences- 4-7pm
Thursday, October 15: Friday, October 16: Fall Break!
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